What bands come to mind when you say the word ‘avant’? OK, let’s narrow it down a bit to just ‘avant-pop’, so who are those artists? A good handful can be named from France’s Les Rita Mitsouko and Indochine to Japan’s Pizzicato Five, Iceland’s The Sugarcubes, and the kaleidoscopic Stereolab with their mainstay of high energy synth-based sonic adrenaline. Having just looked up ‘avant-pop’ on Wikipedia, now we will all know that this sub-genre of popular music is “experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles, while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener”.
Today we are pleased to present you an addition to our list above in Bristol’s own Modesty Blaise, whose music could also be dubbed ‘baroque pop’. The track ‘Girls Just Wanna Dance’, comes with a fun-loving clever video that will lure you in, the same way that Roger Moore’s The Saint and Emma Peel and John Steed’s The Avengers did several decades back (and they still do if you’re lucky enough to find a way to watch the reruns, I must say). This is the new Pulp – but with steller retro flair that, both sound and fashion-wise, runs deeper than Jarvis Cocker’s own wardrobe could manage.
In less than two months, the six-piece will be releasing a new album via German label From Lo-Fi to Disco! Titled ‘The Modesty Blaise’, this is the band’s third studio album and their first LP since releasing their head-turning ‘Melancholia’ LP (2001) with hit single‘Carol Mountain’. Their first studio album in 20 years! That’s a pretty hefty hiatus when you think about it. Welcome back Modesty Blaise!
This new release was preceded by a string of singles, including‘Natalie Vendredi’ with its endearing nouvelle vague video, which will also be included on the album. Pulp, Divine Comedy, XTC, Stereolab, Jacques Dutronc, Francoise Hardy, High Llamas, Edwyn Collins, Michael Nesmith
Modesty Blaise have been around for a few decades in various guises. After forming in late 1993, the band quickly recorded their debut single ‘Christina Terrace’ with the esteemed Edwyn Collins at the helm, garnering them immediate success with a live appearance on ITV and inclusion among many many end-of-year top music rankings. This acclaim however was not enough to quell the kind of internecine warfare that Modesty Blaise have become famous for.
After ‘Melancholia’, the band faced delay after another with line-up changes and deteriorating personal circumstances. An all-too-familiar spiral, the years went by slowly but, no matter how bad it got, Jonny still had his guitars in his mum’s attic.
“When everyone else was in their bedrooms working on guitar solos and dreaming of being a rock god, I was reading biographies of Cole Porter and listening to Gershwin and Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin. I try to write concise things, with deliberate moves away from that where necessary,” says frontman and songwriter Jonny Collins.
“Melody, arrangement and counter melodies… The 3 minute pop single is, I’d contest, the summit of great art. It is timeless, and we consistently get it wrong confusing art with commerce. If your art (or your pop record) sounds like today, it may sound like yesterday pretty soon. Pop iconoclasm”.
Oher career highlights include supporting Robbie Williams at London’s O2 Arena, inclusion in a Rough Trade compilation, an ITV company documentary on Jonny Collins, and a BBC Radio session involving seventeen people.
On February 5, ‘Girls Just Wanna Dance’ will be available digitally everywhere, including Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. ‘The Modesty Blaise’ album will be released on March 26 by from Lo-Fi to Disco! and distributed by Broken Silence (for Europe), Shellshock (for the UK), and Tedium House – Revolver USA and Midheaven mailorder (for North America).
THE PLAYERS
Jonny Collins – vocals
David W Brown – bass
Gregory Jones – guitars
Mark Bradley – drums
Alastair Jenkins – guitars
Roger MacDuff – violins
Jörn Elling Wuttke – mixing at Klangfabrik Frankfurt
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